We live in Enumclaw, it’s a small town at the base of Mount Rainier. We’re not too far from Seattle, so you can commute to work. It’s actually pretty rural, lots of dairies, horses, livestock. Tractors regularly travel down Hwy 164 past our house. We’ve had to stop for cows in the road, elk and horses. Drive the backroads and you’ll see fields full of alpaca, llama and sheep. We’ve had a moratorium on building new homes for 10 years or so because of issues with our water treatment plant. They are building a new one, and the developers will come, sadly. Hopefully, the City of Enumclaw has some sense about it and we don’t start to look like Covington (strip mall city).
I wanted to write a blog about all the places you can buy local in Enumclaw. I have been interested in eating local for several years now, since I read the Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He advocates knowing where your food comes from, to be aware of what we are eating. I am not “granola” – I don’t want to eat wheat germ seaweed muffins. He suggests starting small – eat locally produced food.
What better place to do that than in Enumclaw? We live in a Farm town for goodness sake! We have local, grass feed beef available, free range chickens, eggs. Did you know you can walk into King Feed, Tracy’s Produce or Country Farm and Feed (both locally owned) and purchase local eggs? They’re around $3 a dozen, cheaper than those “free range/cage free” ones at QFC (they’re around $4.29) – at Seattle Farmer’s markets, they charge $5-$6 per dozen!
Local Shopping:
We’ve got a Main Street – (Cole) with lots of old storefronts and shops. My Mom and I like to go into town to do our shopping whenever we need a gift or just because. Sadly, many of the small businesses on have closed in the last year, probably because of the recession. I really believe in trying to buy local whenever possible, I can’t tell you how many times I have been saved by being able to go down into town to purchase gifts. It’s also great because you walk into the store and they know you, I guess it’s old fashioned, but it’s a personal relationship. You know that you are supporting the business owner, someone just like you, who followed their dream and opened a little gift shop or candy store. They know what you like, they know the names of your kids and husbands. You run into them in the grocery store or at high school choir shows.
Favorite Places:
Almost Necessities and Sweet Necessities
1602 Cole Street
Enumclaw WA98022
Peg and Toby run these great little shops on the corner of Cole and Porter (Hwy 164) – Sweet Necessities in a storefront behind Almost Necessities. They have caramels that are to die for! Toby makes them by hand, my favorites are the Salted Caramels. They also have loose teas, Snoqualmie Valley Ice Cream, and chocolates! Lots of very tasty chocolate and fudge.
Almost Necessities has all your favorite things. Our relationship started because I collected Boyd’s Bears and they were the local dealer. I would go to after hours launch events and such. Boyd’s is no longer, but there are still beautiful things here. She carries the full line of Yankee Candles, if there’s a scent, Peg’s got it! Jim Shore, Fiesta dinnerware (a lot of pieces in all the colors). You just have to browse.
This n That
Country, Primitive and Folkart objects to love. The merchandise changes constantly, so visit often. My mom collects these adorable figurines that they carry. If you like it, buy it, or it will be gone next time. The ladies are very friendly, I recognize them, but I don’t know their names. My neices like to go in there for the old fashioned candy.
Mt Rainier Independant Business Association – http://www.mriba.org
I just found this website, I think it’s a great idea. It is a locally owned business resource. I have to check it out more.
Olson’s Meats & Smokehouse
20104 SE 436th St
Enumclaw WA 98022
Local butcher just outside of town, the best! We get our Prime Rib for Christmas every year here – delish!
I will keep updating on this subject, maybe one per day.
There it is, the top of Kim’s Quilt! I found most of these fabrics around New Year sat the Quilt Barn in Puyallup. My sister’s birthday is Jan 7, so I decided to make her a quilt. (She’s been bugging me to make one). I think it came out really great! It’s based on the “Strip Search” pattern by GE Designs. I made a mistake in cutting though, so I had to alter the design and add the lattice work between the squares (there isn’t supposed to be any space between the squares). Now I have to quilt it!
Paisley Sheets 